Marc-André Hamelin (Photo: Sim Cannety-Clarke)
“There’s both genius and madness in there, and we are so lucky as pianists to have this in our reach,” reflects Marc-André Hamelin before his performance of Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit.
Canadian virtuoso pianist Marc-André Hamelin is known for his unparalleled artistry, remarkable technical dexterity, and deep musical sensitivity. The New York Times called him a “performer of near-superhuman technical prowess.” WFMT’s Louise Frank has described him as a “most approachable genius.”
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Hamelin began his musical journey at a young age, picking up the piano at age five and continuing his studies four years later at École (de Musique) Vincent-d'Indy and Temple University.
Hamelin has since enjoyed a dazzling career, sharing the stage with preeminent orchestras and giving numerous recitals at major venues and festivals worldwide. His most recent appearances include performances with Philharmonisches Orchester Hagen, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, and The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
Beyond his extensive live performing career, Hamelin is an exclusive recording artist of Hyperion Records and the recipient of the 2000 Gramophone Magazine Instrumental Award. He has also received 7 Juno Awards, 11 Grammy Nominations, the 2018 Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the German Record Critics’ Association.
On July 1, 2024, Hamelin joined WFMT in a landmark conclusion of the 2023-24 Live From WFMT season with performances of music by Charles Ives, Robert Schumann, and Maurice Ravel.
Ives’ Second Piano Sonata, otherwise known as the Concord Sonata, has been described as wild and sprawling. An impressionist picture of Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and the Alcotts, this sonata holds a special place in Hamelin’s career. It was one of the earliest works recorded in Hamelin’s now extensive discography.
WFMT’s Kerry Frumkin held that the evening’s next piece, Schumann’s Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), might be a work that Thoreau would have enjoyed. The set of nine character pieces evokes nature and humanity’s place within it. Hamelin shared that in 1979, he attended a masterclass of Italian pedagogue Maria Curcio who ultimately inspired him to take a look at the suite.
Last on the program was Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, a piece noted for its difficulty and demand on the pianist. Hamelin told us that it is a “tremendous test of the player’s tonal control and control of touch… one could practically spend a lifetime on it.” The three-movement work is directly inspired by prose poems of Aloysius Bertrand, which depict scenes of a seductive water sprite, ominous gallows in the desert, and a malevolent imp who torments the nights of the poet.
It was thrilling to witness Hamelin’s mastery of this range of repertoire from the innovations of Ives to the expressive Schumann and haunting Ravel on Live From WFMT.
